Matthew lechner



M. L'ECHNER. w

vELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION FILED Aus.s1.1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Reissu'er Sept. 19, 1922. T

Reissued Sept. 1.9, 19.22. i

- UNITED STATES MATTHEW LECHNEB., 'NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC STORAGE BATTERY.

Original lo. 1,359,259, dated Novembcr 16, 1920, Serial No. 247,111, led July 29, 1918. Applicationv for reissue led August 31,

To all whom it may concern.'

' Be it known that I, MATTHEW LECHNER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough oi' Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elec- .such batteries, a certain amount oi' material is cast off from the plates and passes down to the bottom of the cells where it forms gradually increasing heaps of sediment j which form connections between two plates 'of different polarity. The sediment comprises lead, lead peroxide and sulfate o1 either, and it is true, is not a good conductor of electricity; it is, however, a suliiciently good conductor to establish an electrical circuit between adjacent positive and negative plates. Numerous small currents result, the sum total of Which represents a continuous and injurious loss of electrical energy at all stages and during the entire life ofthe bau from'thedesoription hereinafter, and the "show a number of examples of my invenfeatures ofnovelty will be pointed out in' the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which, for .illustrative and descriptive. purposes,

tion, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a portionofa batter cell showing'one form of my -lnvention;

igt-2 -i's av cross-section thereofon :the line 2:-2'of Fig. 1; Figs. 3, t andare views similar'to F1g. 1 showing additional forms of my invention; Figs.'

6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of still other-,forms of my invention; 1`i-g.^9A is a `1an,:.View--illustrating the form shown in ig. B; Fig.'10 is a sectional view showin a4 still further form of my invention an Fig. 11 is a cross-section ther/QQIL the line 11--11 of Fig. l0.

1921; Serial No. 497,378.

As shown in the drawings, the battery cell comprises the customary jar 15 of hard rubber or other suitable material, having a plurality 'of interiorly locatedv ribs or bridges, for instancetwo, 16 andl, rof jecting upwardly; from its bottom. he cell includes further the usual positive plates 17 and negative-.plates 18 supported in any well lmown way and spaced apartA by` separators 19 and 20 usually consisting. uof rubber and, Wood respectively. The separators 19 and 20 areI located in surface engagement with each other vbetween two plates, with the rubber separator 19 in sur face contact with the positive plate"` 1f? and the Wood separator 2O i'n surface engage-j ment with the negative plate .18. The separators 19 and 20, when combined in palrs, are of such combined dimensions as to. fit snugly between apair of plates 17 and 18, and to frictionally engage the opposed surfaces thereof in the usual Way; all of. the plates in a single cell, together with their supports, are thus secured together. in the j forml of a unit in which the individual plates are incapable of relative movement in any direction.l

In the operative condition of the battery, the units comprising` the positive plates 17 and negative plates 18 with their supports, and the separators 19 and 20. all in fixed relation to each other are located within the jar 15 and rest upon the ribs or'bridges 16 and -16al in Atransverse relation thereto. It isa well recognized factthat the sediment which falls from the plates in theoperation. of the battery, accumulates at the bottom of the jar, in heaps along the side surfaces of the ribs or bridges 16 and 16, the accumulation being greatest at these points and becoming 'gradually less toward the centres of the spaces betweenplates., If, as in existing constructions, the lower edges of each plate 17 and `18 rest upon both bridges `16 and 16a., sho'rt-circuiting of the 4pglates will occur as soon as the .sediment therefrom reaches an amount sutlicient to and `the bottom of the jar, which Skin capable of electrically gnneoting lzlleplttgsftf` This otieetion is avoided in -the form I 'shovvn in' igs. 1 and 2 by making the lower edgesl and 18a of the positive and negative plates 17 and '18 respectively,A inclined insteadlo'f at right angles to the vertical edges of said plates. In'assemblingfthe plates they are set in reversed relation to each other so that the edge 17a inclines up- Wardly in one direction while thev edge' 18a inclines upwardly in the opposite direction; in other words, looking at the assembled plates vas lin Fig. 1 the edges 17E.1 and 18a intersectreach other. Tith the described arrangement the edge 1Ta will rest upon the bridge 16a-nd be free or. spaced from the` bridge 16dv while `the edge 18a Will rest upon the bridge-16a and be, free or spaced from' the bridge 16; owing to the fact that 'the` platesare 4combined in the `form of a rigid vunit, with the separators 19 and` 2() an eiielements is'secured even though the v 'Sigalternately engage only individual bridges.

cient and'adequate'support of the battery It will be obvious that `the sediment -vvhic`h always accumulates to the greatest extent along land'upoii the lsurfaces of the .bridges 1 6 and 16at cannot form a connection llo'etvveen a positive plate and an. adjacent negative plate for the reason that one of said plates is spaced from a given bridge. y`The top edges of the bridges 16 and 16"l are generally rounded orot'herwise formed i 16@ but spaced towprevent an `accumulation of sediment thereon; thevibrationresulting from a Inoving vehicle Will also 'prevent the gathering of sediment in any material quantities upon the upper edgesof the bridges.v In the form shown in Fig, 3 the lower edges of the plates 17 and 18 instead of extending from one side edge to the other in a continuous incline are formed with compoundinclines 171 andl-c and 16b and 18; the inclines 17 and 18c are shorter than the inclines 41'2" and 18"V with the' proportions so varranged that the junction points of the respective inclines represent the points at which the, plates engage the bridges and upon Which they are supported. The plates 17` and 18 `in this form also, are set in reversed relation to each other so "far as the inclined lower edges are concerned, so that the positive plates Will be in engagement `with and supported upon, tor instance7 'the bridge 16 and spaced from the bridge 16a While the negativeplatesfwill be in engagement with and supported upon the bridge from the bridge 16 or vice versa.

As illustrated inFig. 4, the platesl'iand 1,8 are symmetrical andI the lower edges thereof are providedv with lugs or projece'tions '17C and 18? respectively located, when the plates are in reversed relationto each other., so as to .register with the bridge-.sf16Y andla.' Thus the lugs 17C of the positive.

lates J plates 17 willengage the bridge 16 and thel to register ivitlithe bridges 16 and 16a; by

assembling the plates 17 and' 18 in alternate reversed relation to each other the notches 17d will be in registry with one bridge, for

.instanceLlaa While the notches 18fr are in registry with the other bridge 16. With this arrangement also each plate, positive and negative, rests upon one bridge only4 and is out of engagement with the other; the points of engagement of the positive andnegative plates are never with the same `bridgeuand are never contiguous to each. other.,I 'y

Figs. 6, T and 8 illustrate mylimprovewhich asshown are provided With-seats 16b and recesses- 16 alternating wlth eachother in each bridge; the arrangement is'suchthat the seats 16b and recesses 16U of onefbri-dge willv be staggered. `with respect tothe" rseats and recesses of the other bridge or, infother Words, the seats 16b of the bridge "16' Mwill register With the recesses ofithebridtge16EL and vice versa.. The plates A17 .and 18 in this case are` symmetrical and of true rectangular form as in existing batteries; l'Whenin position in the cell the positive plates 17 'will rest, for instance, upon theseats 16?v ofthe bridge 16 and ,project over the recesses 16n of the bridge, 16 While tie negative-plates 18 Will rest upon the seats16l of thebridge 16 and extend overthe recesses 16 of lthe bridge 16a as shown in Fig. 9, in which `the separators 19 and 2() are showg'gas partly broken away. It will be seen iiithisjform that tbe plates are in contaetwith one 'bridge and out of Contact. with the others. ,v l.

The form shown in lifig. 1 0 includesfa central bridge 16d and two outside bridges 16; the bridges 16 may be recessed as: in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 or constructed as in the other forms.

rests upon the seats 16" of tbe bridges 16 and are provided with recesses 17 in` registry with the central bridge 16d andnof suiticient dimensions to escape contactl'thcr with; the plates 17 thus straddle the central bridge butA do not engage the samin The negative plates 18 `rest` upon vthe centtai bridge 16d but extend over the recesses 16C .of the outer bridges y16and thus do not cn- In this instanceA one set of1 plates, for instance, the positive plates 17,

nection between two negative plates i8 or? along the central bridge 162 to 'form Macon! 1 ses? mention between two posiive plates this will. have no injurious results as in esel! cese the connected pistes ere of ie same pois-rits.

In all of 'ilfie forms described the close riotionsl errgagemerir between the pls-fies. separators and other elements prevent either one of the groups of connected plates oi? olie same' polariy, or st least one ser of che battery plates, from iiizig on sliesingle 'point-s of support ifuleruins imo contraer with the seoorid bridge; she unit constitue# 1n the pierres, separators, ere., is thus rig- 1d y supported in proper position to msm tsm the uprigh edges of the plaies. as all parte thereof, out of commer, "wirl-i lie inner Well of the jur or container l5 and also ro maintain lle pierres our or" @outsol- With e given bridge ss desird. if through use or from other csuses @he group of olores of s given polaris;7 should become loosened and thus be capable of independeni; ioovesieiir relatively to the other group, any suisiils means muy be used to counteract or corre-t this condition; instance, a suirsble morir ber of insulating material constructed iii the form of a spacing device may be tted between the pistes near their upper portions for this purpose. A

iruprovemoo* is all forros erl nbr-sorely simple eifioieo'r :and may rer-Ld oe combined its es@ with bseriss of exisririgoonsrruwions. "Y improvemens redueo the periori oiE clzzirf og the boiseries and avoid rile use for forcing u surplus amount i energy bef/ood wiisu 'would ordisari y required into elle cell s'uiiioient reep elements clean; in esser Words iii en .ing rons-rructioos 1r is necessary so rgge ize 4osrrerj.' to so stir-emr corr wvtli iie amount of eoergy iost ,.rirougi the oceuioulaing sediment. Nsiursily 'me energy :is the disposal the user, errer rire battery has been charged., is door sed lo s .iilre errent for the seme ressens. 'oprovemens also flo Wish prsono ,Nix eil of lio sri-Calleri selfolisohsrge, obvil ue sulierisggf or the plaies soci lie o .i vr, necessity for or'eroiiurging .l the seme, reduce @Elie of ihr yola/ares to raising lo s, mioii'iiimi rre-1i increase the life of the heb teries to s iruixiisuim exi/siii; by reducing sli-e loosening iro^ s eeiive msrerizi to very smeli. sii/loony #Veroli 'i 'the scope of .spaced bridge elements inv Various Changes in lie specific 'forms shown and described 'may be mode Within the claims wirhout departing iroin the spirit oi my'im'enrion.

'i oisim:

l. .lo u. storage buttery oeil. the combination oi' s container, positive and negative plaies therein said plates losingr combined in he form of a unit und having their upright edges, at all poins, out of Contact Wiili iie inner Weil of the f 'onuinen :rml said ronminer whereby seid unit is supported in position, he supporing edges of the plates of :rr iessr. one ser having no more than zi single point of @onrust with one of said bridge elements smi beingl spaced from the other bridge elements that support other plates.

2. In s. s orsge buttery cell, the combination or' n container, positive end negutivo pistes lie-rein, spared bridge elements be usarli seid plates for maintaining them in position, #he srrzmgemenr inclrlclingr recesses of minor dimensions with respect to the supporting edges or' said plates, said reeesses being iocsterl ro correspond with the position oit all the bridge elements save oneelements and. out of engagement with the other bridge elements that support the other plaies.

S. in :L storage battery Celi, rior. of e container, plates" Hier-eis, seid io elle form of unir. und having il right e iges,sr all points,l 'with folie inner Well of seid container. ,arid suoceri bridge elomeris in seid container whereby said unit is maintained in tion, ,the posiiive plate having u in registry with one bridge :mil lie negative piers having :i recess in rs isry with the orlfier bridge, one o s plates, at lessi, lievi g Contact with only one bridge lou notfwirii any other, seid recesses being minor dimensions -Ivith respect to the A t Suid plates.

Iii restuoony whereof I have hereto set my Erario l/rli doy oi August 1921.

MATTHEW LECHNER.

sipout ofi (folliero 

